The gaming industry has been rapidly evolving, and one of the most significant developments in recent years has been the integration of blockchain technology. In 2023, we witnessed a surge in the number of blockchain-based games, each offering unique experiences and tokenized ecosystems. From exhilarating play-to-earn (P2E) adventures to innovative decentralized applications (dApps), the blockchain gaming landscape has been a dynamic and exciting space.
This article will delve into the best and worst blockchain-based games of 2023, exploring their unique features, gameplay mechanics, and the accompanying tokens that power their economies.
Top blockchain-based games and their tokens: 2023 highlights
Whether you're a seasoned gamer, a crypto enthusiast, or simply curious about the intersection of gaming and blockchain technology, this comprehensive analysis will provide valuable insights. We'll examine the games that pushed the boundaries of innovation, offering immersive experiences and rewarding ecosystems, as well as those that struggled to gain traction or faced significant challenges.
Gala Games
Gala Games (GALA) is a gaming platform that allows players to earn rewards while they play. It's a new way of gaming that combines the fun of playing games with the ability to earn cryptocurrency.
The company behind Gala Games wants to make blockchain technology and cryptocurrency more widely used in gaming. Their goal is to create exciting games that also give players ownership and control through the use of NFTs (non-fungible tokens) and their own cryptocurrency called Gala coin.
Even though Gala Games is a relatively new company, having started in 2019, it has already built a large following of both gamers and crypto enthusiasts. This is likely due to the experience of the founders and team behind the project.
The CEO, Eric Schiermeyer, has an impressive background in the gaming industry, having co-founded the hugely popular company Zynga and several other successful startups. The other key founders are Wright Thurston and Michael McCarthy.
Many of the Gala Games team members have expertise in game development, and they are currently working on several promising new games. While making fun games is the top priority, they also aim to decentralize gaming by giving true ownership to players through the use of cryptocurrency.
When Gala Games first started, their cryptocurrency called Gala token was created on the Ethereum blockchain using the ERC20 standard. However, the plan is for Gala token to eventually move over to Gala's own proprietary blockchain called Gala Chain.
The main uses of the Gala token are:
- It acts as the main currency that players can use to buy and sell NFTs (unique digital items) within Gala's games and marketplace.
- It allows players to purchase in-game items, power-ups, and other virtual goods to use while playing Gala's games.
So in simple terms, the Gala token is the cryptocurrency that fuels the entire Gala Games ecosystem - from buying/selling unique collectibles to making purchases inside the actual games themselves. Moving to their own Gala Chain blockchain will give them more control and flexibility over their token's usage.
Axie Infinity
Axie Infinity is a very popular blockchain-based online video game developed by a company called Sky Mavis from Vietnam. The game allows players to collect, breed, raise, battle and build virtual worlds for digital pet characters called Axies.
What makes Axie Infinity unique is that it has its own in-game economy that uses cryptocurrency. Players can earn the game's two cryptocurrencies - Axie Infinity Shards (AXS) and Smooth Love Potion (SLP) - by playing the game. These digital coins can then be bought, sold or traded on cryptocurrency exchanges for real money.
To get started, new players have to purchase at least 3 Axie pet NFTs (unique digital collectibles) which can cost hundreds of dollars upfront. Once they own these pets, they can breed them, battle them against other players' Axies, and complete quests to earn the in-game cryptocurrencies.
There are two main cryptocurrencies/tokens used in the Axie Infinity game:
- Smooth Love Potion (SLP)
- This is the token players earn by playing the game, battling Axies, completing quests etc.
- The main use of SLP is to pay fees when breeding new Axie pets.
- SLP can also be traded on major crypto exchanges like PancakeSwap, Binance etc.
- Axie Infinity Shards (AXS)
- AXS is required to actually start playing the game and access certain features.
- Holders of staked AXS can claim rewards and participate in voting on governance proposals for the game.
- As an Ethereum-based ERC-20 token, AXS acts as the internal currency within the Axie universe.
- AXS holders have a say in how the game's community treasury funds are utilized.
- The Axie team uses AXS as a way to verify buyers and sellers before conducting sales/auctions of Axies and other NFTs.
So in simple terms:
- SLP is the token earned by playing
- AXS is the token needed to play and participate in the ecosystem
Both tokens are essential to the game's economy, with SLP representing rewards and AXS representing access, governance and the ability to trade on the Axie marketplace.
The idea of being able to "play-to-earn" real money has made Axie Infinity a hit, especially in countries like the Philippines where some people use it as a primary income source. However, the game's economy has been unstable and critics argue it may just be a form of gambling that requires a constant influx of new players to sustain itself.
Despite its popularity, Axie Infinity has faced some major setbacks including a massive $620 million cryptocurrency hack in 2022 and delays in releasing its much-anticipated virtual land gameplay features. But it remains one of the most successful and influential blockchain gaming projects to date.
The Sandbox
The Sandbox is one of the pioneering and most well-known web3/crypto games that has helped introduce the concept of the "metaverse" to a mainstream audience.
The game allows players to explore and interact with virtual worlds and experiences created by major brands like Paris Hilton, Gordon Ramsay, Snoop Dogg, FaZe Clan and others. Each partnership adds new unique features - for example, the Hell's Kitchen experience lets players try virtual cooking gameplay.
At its core, The Sandbox is powered by user-generated content (UGC) created by its community of players. The game provides tools like the Voxel Editor and Game Maker that allow anyone to build assets, games, and experiences within the virtual world using their imagination.
To enable this creator economy, The Sandbox utilizes several different cryptocurrencies and NFTs:
- SAND - This ERC-20 token is used for all transactions and economy activities within the game ecosystem.
- LAND - These are NFT representations of virtual plots of land that players can purchase to build games/experiences on.
- ASSETS - User-generated items, characters, buildings etc. minted as ERC-1155 NFTs that can be traded and used as building blocks.
The idea is to create a circular economy where players use SAND to buy LAND and ASSETS, which creators make and sell to earn SAND, driving continuous creation of new content and experiences.
Worst blockchain-based games and their tokens
Not all popular games were performing equally successfully. Some blockchain-based games that were enjoying popularity once ended up in a failure, with lost users and decrease of their assets’ value.
Gods Unchained
Gods Unchained is a blockchain-based trading card game that utilizes NFT cards. Its cryptocurrency token GODS used to be valued at around $8.83 at its peak, but has since dropped significantly.
The game faced a major setback when it was removed from the Epic Games store after receiving an "Adults Only" rating from the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB). This harsh rating, usually reserved for only the most mature content, was likely due to the game's "play-to-earn" economic model involving cryptocurrency rather than the game's actual content itself.
The developers of Gods Unchained are appealing this rating, as they believe it could severely limit the game's potential user base and growth. An "Adults Only" title has a much harder time reaching mainstream adoption.
As a result of this situation, the number of daily active users for the game has plummeted from a peak of 947 down to nearly zero currently. The future of Gods Unchained remains uncertain as it navigates this ratings controversy.
Despite the innovative blockchain integration, the game hasn't been able to maintain traction with players. Overcoming the "Adults Only" label will be crucial for Gods Unchained to recover and expand its user base going forward. The developers are working to resolve this, but the game faces an uphill climb currently.
Phantasma
Phantasma is a blockchain platform focused on NFTs and gaming. Its native cryptocurrency SOUL used to be valued at around $3.97 at its peak, but has since dropped significantly to just over $0.20.
One of Phantasma's key features is its support for "SmartNFTs" - advanced NFTs that can change or evolve based on certain predetermined conditions. For example, some users have NFTs representing virtual "pocket monsters" that transform into more powerful forms once they gain enough experience points from being used.
However, despite this innovative technology, adoption of Phantasma's NFTs has been very low so far. There are hardly any NFTs actively being used or traded on the Phantasma platform at the moment.
While the idea of evolving, dynamic NFTs is enticing, it hasn't translated into real user traction yet. The low usage and trading volume of SmartNFTs could pose challenges for Phantasma's long-term vision and roadmap.
Unless it can drive significantly more adoption and usage of its SmartNFTs among gamers, creators and collectors, Phantasma may struggle to retain relevance in the rapidly growing NFT gaming space against other major platforms.
For now, Phantasma's dynamic NFT capabilities remain an innovative but underutilized feature that has yet to find mainstream product-market fit. Driving real-world usage will be key for the platform moving forward.
Sprinterlands
Sprinterlands is a web3 gaming project that aims to give players true ownership and control over their in-game assets using blockchain technology. Its native cryptocurrency token SPS used to trade as high as $1.27, but has dropped significantly since then.
At its peak, Splinterlands managed to attract over 490,000 active users to its play-to-earn game world. However, the platform has since lost over 90% of that user base.
The core idea behind Splinterlands was to create a game economy where players could genuinely own the items, characters, resources etc as tradable crypto assets on the blockchain, rather than having those assets locked into a centralized game.
While this premise of true digital ownership resonated initially, allowing Splinterlands to achieve notable user numbers, it has struggled to maintain that traction over time.
With an over 90% decline from its peak active user base, it appears Splinterlands has failed to retain players and build an engaged, sustainable community around its web3 gaming experience.
The plummeting price of the SPS token from $1.27 to just much below $1 likely reflects this loss of users and usage within the Splinterlands ecosystem.
Despite its novel vision, Splinterlands showcases the challenges of retaining a critical mass of players and economic activity for blockchain games over longer periods. Renewing growth will be an uphill battle for the project moving forward.
Bottom Line
Blockchain-based gaming is a highly competitive field, where only the best projects that manage to adopt quickly to the changing market conditions survive. This is why it is crucial to understand clearly how to choose a token to invest in and to track market and the project continuously to ensure that your investment delivers the expected results.